Start Delay / Countdown Option (for the App Record Button)

Afaik Strava starts recording as soon as I press record. This is so stressful, panicky, pressurizing!

I would like the option of a variable start delay/countdown so that I can put my Strava app running tablet away, go down stairs, go outside, clip in, get up speed, get a few blocks away from my house, or whatever, even when it is raining with out getting my device wet.

This will give me ego-juice due to the improved average speeds, privacy since people will never know where I actually started (I know I can set a privacy area, but in addition to that for additional privacy, e.g. for places other than ones home), and a time to mentally prepare as before a race.

No segments start near my house or place or work, so I would like at least a minute or two before recording sets in. It would be rare that I would want to start immediately on button press, so the start delay could be in settings. Strava then might sound a beep on delayed start.

I am not sure if the delay/countdown it should apply to restarts too. Ideally both would be settable. Then I would set a 2 minute delay on starts, and a 10 second put-my-stuff-away delay on restarts. Not that the 10 seconds are all that important, but I am pretty sure that a competitor has a 10 second start countdown.

Comments

I'd love this.....typically my mobile app is a back up for my garmin....if all goes well, I'll delete the record and upload the garmin file when i get home but I'd love to be able to set it for even something as simple as a 1 minute delay so I can stow my phone before I start running/

Dear Elyn and AndyPlease would you be so kind as to press the like button on the page of this thread, so that the thread moves up the suggestions list, and more people vote for it, and perhaps it will get implemented.

yes, please. i'm a mountain biker and would love to set a 30 or 60 second timer so that i can stash my phone in my pack, put my glove on, and be ready when the timer starts. most activity tracking apps do this and it's what's keeping me from using the strava app to record rides.

@Timothy - do you know you can set a privacy zone to hide the area around your residence? This would be equally effective as delaying the start of your recording by 1-2 minutes.

For all of you, thanks for the feedback on this. I believe the reason we don't currently have this feature is that Strava calculates out your resting time when the activity is uploaded. So time spent putting your phone in your pocket shouldn't be included in stats like average speed or pace.

@Elle - While Strava calculates that out when the activity is uploaded, it messes with the pace of the first split when actually recording. I use Strava for running and when I get an audio update after the 1st km my recorded pace is usually way off because I've spent 30 seconds getting my phone in my backpack and my backpack clipped back on. Given that every other fitness tracking app I've used (MapMyRun, Endomundo, etc) has this feature, it is strange that Strava doesn't consider this a useful feature.

Thanks Marc! I think we DO consider it a useful feature, but simply haven't prioritized the feature for our product roadmap. Feedback like yours certainly helps however, as the context you provide is compelling.

You can tell it's working by going to the website, viewing an activity that starts or ends in your privacy zone, and when clicking on the 'map options' menu within the map, select "Show Privacy zone". The part in red is invisible to anyone but yourself.

@Elle - I'd love to add onto this feature request as well. I just got back from a run that wasn't recorded at all because when I was putting my phone into my flipbelt, I must have accidentally hit the pause or finish button (shame cause it was a fast run that only had the first 3 seconds recorded!) . A countdown timer could've prevented this since I'd know when recording has started. It's also the single feature I miss most after coming from Nike+ Running app to Strava premium.

I also think it'd be helpful to have audible alerts when a workout is paused and resumed – whether that's for auto-pause or manual pause. That, too, could've helped prevent my non-logged run.

I've just moved from Runkeeper to Strava and would find a delay option useful. I mainly used it on Runkeeper when starting a race where I'd add a 10-15 second delay to the start so that I could cross the start line on a moving start at about the right time without fumbling with my phone at the line.

By the way, when you press record for the first time is not a great time for the app to ask whether you accept various terms and conditions!

Non-user number 10,000 here who would switch to Strava with a simple countdown timer. C'mon Strava!!! You've got a hundred cool features and can't even create the option? Seriously, the oldest of old, non-updated, abandoned run trackers have this feature.

I'd like to share my experience with Strava, and my opinion about the reason why this app doesn't really need a countdown starter.

I do like that:

- first of all I set the "automatic run pause" option;- then, when I'm ready, I push the button of the run recording, being careful not to do any step in the meanwhile;- immediately the app says "run paused" (because Strava it is not noticing any movement yet);- I take my time to close the cover of the smartphone and to put it in my little bag or pocket, avoiding scratching it;- when it's everything done, I start to run, and immediately the voice of the app says "run started".

That's easy. And at the end of the running I just stop and immediately the voice of the app says "run stopped".It's time to take slowly and carefully the smartphone from the bag or pocket, and to push the "save the run" button.

I think that all the efforts the Strava's engineers made to obtain this result, make them unwilling to add a countdown function to the app.

Actually the auto pause feature works very well in Strava and can make a countdown timer obsolete for many of people. If you start the run it will go into auto pause immediately anyway and that gives me plenty of time to store the phone in my running pouch. Once I start running the app will start recording and that's pretty much all I need... :) Though there is still one downside, the elapsed time in auto pause mode will still be added to the total elapsed time of the run... :/

Thanks for all the great feedback. We appreciate all your comments and votes around a countdown feature for the app! We don't have specific plans to create this feature currently, but love the support.

The auto pause does not work for trail running. Everytime I walk up a steep uphill it auto-pauses. It doesn't start again until I start moving faster. Lost about 1000 feet and 1 mile over the course of a 17.5 mile run. Might work great for road running or cycling, not for trail running. With the auto-pause function not an option, we have to hit start and then try to frantically stow it away somewhere in our hydration pack. I normally wouldn't complain, but its pretty weak since it seems like Strava is one step away from putting the next man on the moon.

Hey guys my Nike app has a countdown timer before it starts - really surprised to find it missing in Strava's app! Doesn't give me any time to tuck the phone away before I start running. Definitely needed.

As we have seen a countdown timer is available on Google Fit, Endomondo , MapMyride, NIke Running and Runkeeper so somthing strange is going on at Strava. I wonder if perhaps, bearing in mind what a brilliant idea Strava segments are, the developers may have gone into a bit of an "I am a genius, on another level to the rest of mankind" kind of mode, like Prince in Prince-World https://youtu.be/8LhcParuzpc?t=11m31sperhaps, so they do not feel the need to heed the voice of their customers.

So an alternative solution we could ask the developer of OneTapForStrava (a great app that solves another strava problem: the lack of a record button unless you return to the top screen) to add countdown functionality. I have asked for this functionality in a review. https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.onetapstrava

I recently switched from Runtastic to Strava but sorely miss the countdown timer at the the start. I need to get my phone back into my arm pouch after starting the activity but lose about 15-20 seconds of my first split because there is no countdown. I think I will go back to Runtastic even though I like Strava better because this feature is a show-stopper to me.